Mount Shasta: Be Still and Know

I first heard the famous verse from Psalms “Be still and know that I am God” when I was in my early 20’s.  As soon as I heard these words, I knew that they held a huge key.

At the time, I was doing lots of meditation, so I had some practice at sitting still.  But, I had no clue how to still my mind.  Stopping the endless barrage of thoughts seemed impossible.

I figured that it would take something drastic to learn to be still, so I decided to go into the jungle (I was on Kauai at the time), fast for a week, and focus on those magic words as much as I could

I gave it my best shot, but my mind never stopped.  

 When I came out after the week (I still remember that first dinner at an Italian restaurant), I didn’t feel the least bit transformed.  I was still living in the craziness of my mind, longing for a respite.

Many years later, I heard Adyashanti, a very wise American teacher, say something along the lines of “Don’t try to be still.  Just notice the stillness that is always already present.”

That really helped a lot.  I had such a strong habit of achieving things by efforting that I’d figured stilling my mind was one more thing to accomplish by trying my hardest and not giving up.  That approach didn’t work at all.

The idea that the stillness I craved for was already present was very comforting.  Gradually, I began to let go of my trying habit and relax enough to taste that stillness.

I discovered that in certain environments, it was easier to notice that always present stillness.  When I lived in Southern CA, I spent lots of time by the ocean and in the Anza Borrego Desert.

Over the years, by far the best place I’ve discovered, for finding true peace is Mount Shasta.  This mountain amplifies the silent stillness in a uniquely powerful way.  Just looking at the mountain now through my office window, my mind slows down. 

The amplification gets much stronger when I go up on the mountain.  There are certain spots, such as Ascension Rock, which I mentioned in my last blog, where it’s so easy to drop into the silent stillness, it’s feels almost like cheating. ;-)

I feel incredibly grateful that my desire to experience the truth of  “Be still and know that I AM God” has led me to Mount Shasta.  

Yes, my mind is still pretty active, but I don’t struggle to stop it like I used to.  The mountain’s reflection and amplification have helped me to know who I AM.  When I venture away from Mount Shasta, that sense of stillness is much easier to access than it used to be.

Andrew Oser has been offering spiritual life coaching, along with guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 1982.   Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives.  www.mountshastaretreat.net

Mount Shasta: Valentine's Day with my True Love

I woke up Valentine’s Day morning and, went right to my living room window.  My heart stirred as I gazed at the magnificence of Mount Shasta once again.   I felt a strong desire to have an intimate visit on this day to celebrate love.

After lunch, I drove up to a trailhead around 6500 feet.  What a blessing to be able to drive 15 minutes from my home and be high up on Mount Shasta!

I strapped on my snowhoes and walked through the slushy snow to Ascension Rock, one of the most powerful sacred sites on the mountain.  I greeted the rock with a hug and my mind stopped.  Immediately, I tasted deeper stillness than I had for a while.  I sat for about an hour and drank it in.

Then, I snowshoed over to Sand Flat, a bit more than a mile away.  Sand Flat offers a full view of the summit and higher areas of Mount Shasta.  It’s a wonderful spot to sit and bask in her majestic  presence.

After an hour or so at Sand Flat, I headed back to my car.  I felt much more deeply present than I had just a couple hours ago.  My heart was wide open.  Once again, I had been transformed by the pure love Mount Shasta so freely offers.

Andrew Oser has been offering spiritual life coaching, along with guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 1982.   Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives.  www.mountshastaretreat.net

Mount Shasta - My True Love

With Valentine’s Day coming up, our thoughts are naturally turning to love.

I met the great love of my life when I was only 24.  She captured my heart at first glance and I’ve been devoted to her ever since.  After many years of living far apart, we’ve been living together the past 9 years.  My true love is more than 14,000 feet tall.  Her name is Mount Shasta.

What Grace it is to look out my window now and see her, so magnificent in her glistening white winter coat.  When I gaze at her, my heart bursts wide open.  

Mount Shasta offers such a clear reflection of the love that I AM.  Through all the changes of seasons, weather, and we humans climbing her slopes, she is constant, always reflecting that Pure Love.  If I am lost in the thoughts rushing through my mind, a single glance at her brings me back into the Present.

In the many years we lived apart, I would faithfully visit as often as possible.  As soon as I arrived, I knew that I was home.  The stresses of the world would fall away and I would remember who I AM once again.

I’m glad that I’m not the jealous type, since my love does not reserve her gifts for me.  She freely shares herself with everyone.  Visitors come from all over, called to come home and bathe in the Pure Love that Mount Shasta is and reflects in each of us.

She’s honored me by having me guide visitors to her most sacred sites, where the love is further amplified.  What a blessing it is to watch people from every corner of the world experience the joy of coming home to that love and remembering it is truly who they are.

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Andrew Oser has been offering spiritual life coaching, along with guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 1982.   Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives.  www.mountshastaretreat.net

Life Renewal: Make the Most of Your Weekends

photo by Margaret Kunzler

As discussed in my last blog, I strongly recommend the life practice of taking a sabbath day weekly if possible. Taking a full day (or as much of the day as you can) away not only from work, but from all productive, goal-oriented activity, is a wonderful gift to give to yourself.

Even if the demands and structure of your life make it impossible to take a sabbath day, the weekend can still be very restorative. Here are a few keys to keep in mind:

*If possible, take the weekend off from work. A complete break is a powerful alternation that will help you to be fresh on Monday morning. If your situation dictates that you do some work on a weekend, confine that work to one day and take the other day totally off.

* Let yourself sleep and rest as much as you need to.

* Don’t jam the weekend with scheduled activities. Have as much unscheduled time as possible.

* Spend as much time as you can doing things that nurture you, whether it’s being in nature, relaxed time with loved ones, listening to music, etc.

The main key is to honor your needs.  Listen to your heart and to your body.  Particularly if you’ve had a demanding workweek, give yourself a break.  Shift out of the power-through, doing mode into a more gentle compassionate way of being with yourself.  Using the weekends wisely can make a a major difference in your overall health and wellness.

 Andrew Oser has been offering spiritual life coaching, along with guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 1982.   Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives.  For more info, please see www.mountshastaretreat.net

Life Renewal: Take a Regular Sabbath Day

(c) 2014 Ken Nelson

In recent blogs, I’ve been discussing the importance of taking breaks during work and making good use of the time before and after work.  This helps us to manage stress and avoid burnout.  But, for me, it’s not enough.  I also need a regular Sabbath day to stay at the top of my game.

It is a wonderful  lifestyle practice to have a day each week dedicated to self-renewal. If the demands of your life are so great that you can’t imagine taking a full day off, perhaps you could a half day.

Ideally, our sabbath is not a day that we take off from work, but stay busy catching up on household projects. It is a day without any to-do list, without any commitment to accomplish anything. This is our time to slow down and just be with ourselves or with our loved one(s).

It is a day to do whatever nourishes and renews us. The key is not to do anything because of shoulds. If exercising is joyful and renewing for you, be all means do a workout.  But, don’t go the gym because you think you should when you’d really rather be taking it easy.

Traditionally, the Sabbath is a day we dedicate to God.  After 6 days of taking care of our worldly responsibilities, we turn our focus as fully and deeply as possible to God. The God I know lives in me and in all of life. He/She is infinitely loving, always available, and present in each moment. To connect most deeply with God on whichever day I choose as my Sabbath, I let go of all concepts and shoulds, relax as fully as possible, and come into the present moment.

Let any activities you chose to do on your Sabbath day flow naturally out of your joy in being. If you feel inspired to paint the ceiling, to bake bread, or to go to church, by all means do so. But, if possible, don’t do any activities from a sense of pressure or obligation.

Intermixing activity and times of rest or non-doing is a wonderful alternation, a powerful way to explore a new, easier way of doing.

Taking a sabbath day is a wonderful gift to give to yourself.  If you’re not already doing so, start taking regular sabbaths now.

 Andrew Oser has been offering spiritual life coaching, along with guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 1982.   Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives.  For more info, please see www.mountshastaretreat.net